Lior slid the glowing orb into his pocket, the warmth pressing faintly against his chest. For a moment, he lingered in the broken shell of his home, staring at the bloodstained floorboards, his fists trembling at his sides.
He could have stayed there. He could have let the monsters take him, as part of him wanted. But someone, or something, had saved him. That shadow had given its life so his could continue. To throw that away would be an insult.
His jaw tightened. No. I'll keep living. And I'll make every single one of those things regret existing.
He gripped the small knife in his hand and darted out of the ruins. The air outside was thick with smoke, filled with the screams of those who hadn't made it to safety. Bodies littered the street, and the stench of iron and fire clawed at his lungs.
But he didn't stop running. He weaved through alleyways, ducked past collapsing walls, and avoided the moving shadows of beasts. His legs burned, his chest ached, yet the orb's faint warmth against him felt like a heartbeat urging him forward.
"Evacuation center…" he whispered through gritted teeth. "I have to make it there. I won't die here. Not yet."
Behind him, distant roars echoed across the settlement. Ahead, faint alarms rang the sound of the last warning calls from the western square, where the evacuation routes were still open.
Lior tightened his grip on his knife and ran faster.
The streets had turned into a graveyard. Every few steps, Lior had to leap over collapsed carts, burning rubble, or the torn remains of people he once recognized by face. He forced himself not to look too closely, if he did, his legs would stop moving.
A howl split the air. Lior ducked into a narrow alley, pressing his back against the cracked wall as a beast stalked the main road. Its claws scraped against the stone, its snout dripping with blood.
He held his breath, every muscle screaming not to tremble. The orb in his pocket still pulsing faintly.
When the monster finally turned down another street, Lior bolted, his feet slapping against broken cobblestones. His lungs burned, his knife heavy in his palm. He knew that his only option is to run, run because his life depends on it.
At one corner, a smaller beast lurked, tearing into the corpse of a villager. Its head snapped up, eyes locking onto him. With a screech, it lunged.
Lior swung the knife wildly, barely grazing the beast face. The blade chipped, sparks flying as the monster's claw scraped against it. Desperation fueled him, he shoved the creature back with all his strength, and then darted past it while it staggered.
His heart hammered. His hands were slick with sweat and blood that he didn't even know if it was his. But he still ran. Every shadow looked like a predator waiting. Every noise was a threat. Yet he pressed on, guided
by the faint blaring of alarms in the distance.
Then he saw it, the smoke clearing enough to reveal the tall western wall, behind which the evacuation center lay. Guards still held the gate, shouting at civilians to hurry.
Relief surged through him, so sharp it hurt. But between him and salvation… was the street that was crawling with monsters.
Lior knees buckled for a second. His knife looked like a toy against their hulking shapes. His teeth clenched.
"I'll survive, he muttered to himself. No matter what."
.
Just as he was about to dash forward, the earth trembled. From beyond the shattered houses came a thunderous roar, deeper than anything he had ever heard before.
It wasn't just sound, the pressure made his chest squeeze so hard that he could barely breath.
The Greater Beast had reached near the evacuation centre. Its body dwarfed the nearby buildings, covered in jagged scales that glistened under the firelight.
Every step it took shattered stone, every swing of its claws split the ground.
Lior froze mid sprint. His legs refused to move, his knife trembling in his grip.
How… how do you fight something like that?Then, suddenly…..
As if responding to him, a blur. From above, a figure dropped from the rooftops like a black comet, landing between Lior and the monsters with such force the ground cracked beneath his boots. The shock wave sent dust and ash swirling outward.
The monsters turned from Lior instantly, snarling at this new threat. The man stood tall, his coat flaring as though alive. In his hands, blades gleamed, the long and curved weapon shimmered with faint veins of light.
Without a word, he moved. With each slash of his blades monsters felled in drove their body littering gruesomely across the floor and with their black ichor all over the street until. The same monsters that dashed towards him planning to take his life now all lie motionless across the street.
Lior staggered backward, stunned. Then the Greater Beast turned as if noticing the fight that just occurred. Its massive head swiveled, glowing eyes locking onto the lone man who dared stand against it. The air itself seemed to shake with its growl.
The man tilted his chin up, calm in the face of the towering monster. His muscles tensed, then he bent his knees, And launched himself skyward.
The leap carried him higher than the rooftops, his coat whipping in the wind as he came down with both blades aimed for the beast's skull. The impact shook the earth. The beast howled, reeling back, its scales cracked and smoking where the strike landed.
Lior jaw dropped. His mind struggled to process what he had just seen.
"That's… impossible…" he whispered.
But as he said that, realization dawned. His heart pounded faster, not in fear, but in awe.
A genetic ascendant….
One of the rare humans whose bloodline had awakened powers beyond normal limits. A being said to stand as humanity's only hope against the tides of monsters.
And one of them was here. Right in front of him…..
The man landed again, boots hitting the cracked stone with a controlled precision that seemed impossible for a normal folk to do. Dust swirled around him, yet he remained perfectly calm, scanning the battlefield with cold, and piercing eyes.
Lior couldn't move his gaze away. Every movement was deliberate, every strike was flawless. This realization hit him in a surge of awe and fear.
The Greater Beast lunged again, and the ascendant didn't flinch. With a single, fluid motion, he dodged, twisted, and slashed. Sparks flew as his blades tore through the monster's thick scales, leaving deep, glowing gashes.
Lior instinctively clutched his knife tighter, but he felt useless. He had no power, no chance to match this. And yet…he would not give up probably this is going to be one day, the ascendant's presence gave him a spark of hope.
But as he watched, the ascendant's eyes flicked briefly toward him, sharp, assessing. Not warning him, not inviting him. Just… noting him. Like he was barely worth his time.
Lior swallowed. He didn't know what that glance meant, but he could guess that the ascendant doesn't think much of him, his presence barely not worth his time.
The Greater Beast roared, shaking the plaza to its foundations, and the ascendant leapt forward once more, ready to face it again head-on.
Using this opportunity Lior dashed forward with the last of his strength towards the evacuation gate that was already closing. As he kept on running he could see the panicked look of the guards closing the door, it seems they wont wait a second for him, he had to quickly reach the gate.
Just as the gate was almost closed he rolled down barely passing the gate. With a Thud!, The gate closed leaving all those who couldn't make it to fate.
Within the walls, the chaos of the Settlement, the roaring monsters, the panicked screams, the destruction going around, was muffled here, but the weight of it all pressed down on him like a physical force.
He sank to the floor, his legs trembling, knife still clutched tightly in one hand. The adrenaline that had driven him through the streets and alleys drained instantly, leaving him dizzy and shivering.His chest heaved as he tried to catch his breath, and for the first time since the attack began, the full reality hit him.
The evacuation center was crowded. Families huddled together, faces pale with fear, some weeping quietly, others trying to comfort their children.
Lior eyes scanned the room, desperately searching for any sign of Ashley. But atlas he still couldn't find her,the noise of the settlement faded behind him, replaced by the low hum of magical wards and distant cries of the injured.
His mind raced . Ashley. Where was she? Was she alive? Had she…
No Nothing happened to her!. Nothing happened to her! He kept on muttering to himself until he fell unconscious from the exhaustion.